


The Tyranny of Petty Things

by Vadianna



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux is Not Nice, Boundary Issues, Dysfunctional Relationship, Hat Discourse™, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, M/M, Pettiness, Pre-TFA, Voyeurism, empty threats with weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:21:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26384797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vadianna/pseuds/Vadianna
Summary: When Kylo Ren makes an offhand comment about Hux's uniform cap, he unwittingly arms Hux with the perfect weapon to wield against him. The ensuing conflict between the two nearly breaks Kylo.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 249
Collections: Classic Kylux Throwback 2020





	The Tyranny of Petty Things

**Author's Note:**

> One morning I woke up at exactly the right moment to see everything related to [this tweet](https://twitter.com/nivaliente/status/1295311366790750209) by Nivaliente, cloudyfacewithjam, Yananiris, fruhalberra, verybadhedgehog, nannathebold, and others. I laughed, and then realized it would absolutely be kylux pettiness jetfuel.
> 
> I also wrote this for the [Classic Kylux Throwback event](http://twitter.com/kyluxthrowback/), specifically [the week two canonverse themes](https://twitter.com/kyluxthrowback/status/1303222693567762432/photo/1). This one fits pre-TFA best, but I also used the throwback theme as an excuse to do some Snoke handwaving at the end of the fic. I also changed the color of Hux's sofa. I'm not sorry.
> 
> If you'd like specific info about the dysfunctional relationship or any of the tagged content, I put some more specific warnings in the end notes.

“What’s up with the hat, anyway?”

Hux paused. “It's a cap. Aside from that, _we are in the middle of something_. Am I boring you?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Kylo muttered, turning to look over his shoulder. Kylo was bent over the desk in Hux's office, and Hux currently had his cock as far up Kylo's ass as he could manage. He’d placed his hat on the desktop, and Kylo had been forced to stare at it while Hux got himself off.

Kylo was glaring now, looking at the way Hux’s hair was beginning to loosen and fall across his brow. Hux gave a sharp thrust in response.

“Ow! Look, would it kill you to fucking reach around?”

“My hands are full.” Hux flexed his gloved hands on Kylo’s hips, burying his fingertips sharply into Kylo’s flesh. “Is your hand broken?”

“Have I ever told you how romantic you are?”

“Romance? Who’s the one that interrupted my holocall, Ren?” Hux sounded more annoyed now, though Kylo could feel his cock throb inside him. Kylo smirked, facing front and arching his back, leaning more heavily against the arm he’d braced against the desktop. Anger reliably made Hux’s dick harder.

To prove his point, Hux got back to thrusting, and Kylo closed his eyes. “I’m just saying. Do I have to stare at your stupid hat while we do this? You usually don’t even wear it.” Kylo hated it. The curved bill, the tiny crown part, the stupid ear flaps that were huge and stuck up way too high. Kylo had never seen an officer fold the flaps down to keep their ears warm, and wasn’t sure if the flaps were just decorative and stupid, or the officers would rather suffer frostbite than make the hat look worse.

“The cap is part of the uniform,” Hux replied, sounding a little breathless now, and also angry. “I hadn’t put thought into the most offensive place I could put it.”

Kylo reached down, freeing his cock from his pants. “It doesn’t need help being offensive. Why does it even look like that?”

“I’m sorry, am I taking fashion advice from you now? The person who still has xeno intestines splattered all over their trousers from last week?”

“I’m just going to get them dirty again.” Kylo’s palm was too dry to jerk himself off properly, so he licked it and continued, Hux pounding him hard enough from behind to make his spine ache pleasantly. His ass burned, but the jolts of pleasure that spiked through his body from Hux's attention were exactly what he'd been craving. He kept talking, not wanting to seem too eager in front of Hux. “Also, I don’t believe you own any clothes that aren’t a uniform.”

Hux could no longer hide that he was exerting himself, his voice taking on a jagged edge. “Any other parts of my uniform you find offensive, Ren?”

“The pants.”

“The pants stay on.”

Kylo had nearly finished himself, and was waiting for Hux to come. He turned to glare over his shoulder again. “Next time, they won’t. I take what I want.”

Hux shuddered slightly and came into Kylo’s ass, as silently and utilitarian as he could manage. Kylo squeezed his own cock and came into his palm, making sure to wipe it on the edge of Hux’s desk before standing and tucking himself away, relaxed and in a better mood now. When they'd first started doing this together, Hux had been incredulous that Kylo was willing to walk around with his ass leaking, but had since learned that it was impossible to shame Kylo, about that or anything else.

When Kylo sealed his helmet and turned back around, Hux had already straightened his uniform and hair, and appeared as if nothing had happened. But this time, while maintaining eye contact with Kylo, he reached past him, grabbed the hat, and sat it on his head, squaring it and adjusting it over his brow.

It still looked stupid. But Kylo had gotten what he’d come for, so he grabbed his helmet and left.

* * *

  
As far as sex partners went, Hux was an excellent match for what Kylo needed. He didn’t have to watch his mouth or moderate his behavior, because Hux seemed to enjoy the fact that Kylo made him angry. The ruder Kylo was, the harder Hux fucked him, which worked out for both of them. Neither of them were interested in foreplay, or staying in each other’s company a moment longer than necessary. There were no time-wasting comms, no worrying about leave time together. They didn’t like to talk to one another, or meet if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Hux seemed to hate Kylo, and Kylo couldn’t imagine what Hux’s friends were like, or what socializing with him outside of work must involve.

There was always a chance that Hux would stab him in the back, but Kylo knew he would only do that if there was an advantage in it, and so far, sole command of the _Finalizer_ wasn’t enough of an incentive. Kylo had a way of dismissing stupid High Command orders that he suspected Hux envied, or at least found useful enough to tolerate him. Kylo could kill Hux with a thought, but aside from Hux being annoying to work with, he didn't really have a reason. He didn't have anything to gain from killing Hux except more work and blue balls. Also, it was hard to find someone who would fuck him when they knew how easily he could kill them.

It helped that Hux was hot, in terms of dealing with everything else about him, and also letting Hux fuck him. That was why Kylo had suggested the arrangement in the first place. He assumed Hux must also find Kylo physically attractive, though that had never come up.

_My office. Now._

So when Hux broke the rules by sending him a direct comm, Kylo found himself staring at it warily. They didn’t even comm each other for command decisions, since they handled different parts of the ship and had regular division meetings together anyway. They generally stayed out of each other’s way by mutual agreement. The only exceptions were when Kylo barged into Hux’s office to demand sex. That only happened once every week or two, usually after he’d been out on a mission and away from the ship long enough to forget about Hux's personality.

It was a good system, and Hux liked rules. Why was he sending a comm? Kylo had made his last appearance in Hux’s office only five days ago, mostly out of boredom, which was slowly becoming another reason to let Hux entertain him. So it probably wasn’t sex, which meant it would be excruciating. 

Kylo considered ignoring the comm, but was too curious about why Hux would break the pattern. There was a slim chance it was important, but anything important for Kylo wouldn’t come from Hux. He could leave if it was annoying, which was likely. He thought about demanding Hux fuck him before he was allowed to get into whatever it was, but his gut told him not to do that. It was a bad idea to seem too eager. 

As he made his way to Hux’s office from the aft hangar bay, he regretted not going to his quarters and prepping himself first. It seemed like, if he had to tolerate any sort of lecture from Hux, he should get a dicking out of it. And he liked fingering himself beforehand, anyway. It was a poor strategic decision on his part.

Kylo cheered himself up by using the Force to dramatically break into Hux's office. He always hoped to interrupt Hux doing something illicit or interesting when he broke into his office, but Hux was only ever using the datapad setup built into his desk. Kylo had begun to suspect that the only interesting thing Hux did in his office was Kylo. Also, Hux had gotten good at glancing up and looking unimpressed whenever Kylo destroyed his door. Kylo paused in the doorway, quashing his disappointment once again, then walked slowly to the desk in the center of the room.

“You had urgent business, General?”

“Yes. Close the door, Ren.”

Kylo did, using the Force to push the wreck back into place without looking behind him. He leaned over Hux’s desk, trying to intimidate, though it never worked on Hux.

“What’s the urgent business?”

Hux sighed, blanking his datapads and looking bored as he leaned back into his chair. He was wearing the fucking hat. “Take off your pants.”

Kylo blinked behind his own helmet. The possibility that Hux would ask _him_ for sex had never even occurred to him. 

“What?” Kylo managed, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

“You heard me.”

Kylo straightened. “We’ve never done that before.”

“Ren, as much as I like seeing a glimpse of your sloppy, well-prepared ass ready to take my dick, I thought we could move on from pretending it was a spur-of-the-moment whim. At least enough to have you remove your pants.”

Kylo hesitated. “I didn’t prep myself.” It was why this only worked one way. He hadn’t thought Hux would fuck with the formula.

Hux opened a desk drawer and removed a bottle of lube, setting it on the desktop like an offering. “I’ll do it for you.”

“You’d have to take your gloves off for that.” Kylo was suspicious. Hux always opened his fly, Kylo pulled his pants down to the top of his thighs, and that was it. They didn’t do this. Hux tended to touch him as little as possible. Kylo had never even gotten a full handjob. This seemed wrong, like some kind of trap. 

Hux stood, holding Kylo’s eye through the helmet. “No. I don’t have to remove my gloves.”

That made Kylo’s cock twitch in his pants, and he cursed himself as he yanked his boots and pants off in record time.

When he was finished, Hux considered him for a moment, standing at attention with his hands behind his back. Kylo felt vaguely ridiculous. His helmet was still on, as were his tunic, gloves and belt. He was only naked from the waist down, and his long tunic was open in the front, exposing his bare legs and cock. He usually took his helmet off as soon as they got started, but he left it on out of spite now. Maybe Hux was waiting for him to take it off. Kylo decided to make Hux ask for it.

Hux eventually slowly walked around the huge desk, eyes on Kylo. Once he reached the corner, he rested the fingertips of his right hand on the top, then gestured with his left to the broad, uncluttered surface. “On your back. Thighs apart. Heels up.”

They were orders, and Kylo should have fought this whole thing harder, but getting fucked on his back across Hux’s desk was suddenly irresistible, and he knew very well Hux would throw him out if he made this too difficult. So he climbed up and positioning himself as asked, his tunic now draped behind him and exposing his legs and throbbing cock in their entirety. His tunic would be a mess when they were done, but whatever. Kylo would be able to wrap his thighs around Hux's waist while Hux fucked him, and that was worth a lot.

Hux only stared coldly at him for a moment, then reached for the lube. “Very well. I’m going to remove my coat and tunic. You’ll make a mess of me.”

 _Fuck_ , that was hot. Even better, after Hux stripped all his padded layers off, he wore only his gloves, suspenders, and a tight sleeveless shirt beneath, emphasizing his narrow shoulders and thin arms. Kylo had never seen more than Hux’s bare face, and an occasional flash of pale skin at his wrist if the sex was particularly vigorous. Now, as promised, Hux kept his gloves on, and squeezed lube onto his fingertips, smearing it across the leather.

All of it was so good, except for the fact that Hux happened to be wearing his hat today, and still had it on. As much as Kylo was unfairly overwhelmed by the rest of whatever was happening, he couldn’t stop staring at that hat. It was so fucking stupid, and looked even more out of place with the official parts of the uniform gone.

Kylo debated saying something, but knew Hux would only leave it on to spite him. Possibly, he was doing that now, because Kylo had said something last time. Kylo hoped not, because if Hux suspected how much Kylo hated it, he would continue to wear it. Maybe it was just a coincidence. He did sometimes wear his hat, after all.

Kylo was too aware of his own helmet. It was uncomfortable, difficult to breathe in and painful to wear while lying on his back. Hux didn’t ask him to remove it, or otherwise comment on it at all. Kylo had never left it on for sex before. He hoped Hux secretly hated it, and found it as awkward as Kylo.

But when Hux started fingering him open, and was _good_ at it, Kylo couldn’t help how loud he was. It came out through the vocoder in what he thought of as his Kylo Ren voice, since no one but Hux and Snoke ever heard him speak without it. He considered pretending to enjoy this less, but why would he? He liked getting fucked by Hux, or he wouldn’t ask for it. And if it felt good, he couldn’t be bothered to keep quiet. Maybe Hux would even touch his cock this time.

Hux grinned, like the little shit he was, and Kylo knew he didn’t hate the helmet.

That fucking hat, though.

* * *

Kylo discovered, through extensive experimentation, that Hux wouldn’t fuck him face-to-face if Kylo asked for it. If Kylo barged into Hux’s office uninvited, Hux would only fuck him over the desk. But having Hux finger him open with his gloves on, like he couldn’t stand to touch Kylo’s skin with his bare hands, was so shamefully hot that Kylo asked for it every time. He stopped prepping himself beforehand to try to force Hux to do it, but that didn't work, either. Hux would slick his cock and fuck him anyway, which was sometimes the kind of rough sex that Kylo needed. More often, Kylo would use Hux's lube to do it himself while Hux watched, which was sort of hot, but a part of Kylo hated that Hux got to see it if he wasn't doing it himself. That wasn't fair.

It got to the point where Kylo barged into Hux's office every few days. Hux even began telling him no, which he hadn’t before. Not every time, but he claimed to be too busy sometimes.

If Kylo waited, which usually only happened while he was away on a mission, Hux would send him a terse summons. When Hux sent the comm, he always fucked Kylo face-to-face. When Kylo asked for variations, very carefully - Hux removing his tank top, Hux doing it in his underwear, and the one he really wanted, which was Hux doing it without the fucking hat - Hux denied him. Though he did spank Kylo with his suspenders one time, which was nice.

Kylo also began to notice other things changing, the more often they saw each other for sex. Kylo insulted Hux less, and Hux insulted him more. Hux's insults verged more on dirty talk now, and Kylo stopped worrying about Hux finding out how much he enjoyed everything. It still seemed to work, and Kylo felt like he should think harder about why.

But Hux always wore his hat now, without exception. He had it on every time Kylo broke into his office, but also for meetings, holocalls, and everything else he did. It was infuriating. Kylo checked the security feeds, curious if he went without while Kylo was away, and found that Hux wore it even when Kylo wasn't on the ship. Kylo also bothered to watch Hux’s public broadcasts, which he had always delivered without the hat on. Kylo always assumed it was a point of vanity, because Hux had to realize he looked better without. But now, he even gave the speeches in full uniform, stupid hat included.

Kylo did learn that Hux looked the same giving a fanatical speech to the Stormtroopers as he did while fucking Kylo. He wound up watching full holos on mute, eyes on Hux's face and mouth. He saved Hux's archived speeches and watched them while he was away on missions.

He was certain Hux was wearing the hat to annoy him. There wasn’t any other explanation. He fucking _knew_ , and Kylo hated it. Kylo could tell, not just because he always wore it, but because he’d make little noises to prove he knew just what Kylo was asking for when he tried to toss it in with other requests during sex. Hux even kept it on when he fucked Kylo from behind. At least Kylo didn't have to look at it in that position. 

Kylo realized he’d slowly become obsessed with the hat, but he couldn’t stop himself from dwelling on it. He liked getting fucked by Hux. He liked it a lot, which was fine. It felt good, and he needed distraction. But the hat was too much of a distraction, and knowing it was there ruined things for him.

So it was that Kylo found himself standing outside Hux’s private quarters at the end of beta shift, breathing heavily, hand out, trying to stop himself from breaking and entering. This was a fucking stupid thing to do. He knew that violating Hux’s privacy like this would send the wrong message. That Kylo was maybe too invested in this.

But then he thought about Hux in casual clothes, fucking him on his back with no hat on, and it was enough to make his gut tighten with want.

He broke the locks and the door mechanism and barged in, expecting a tirade at the very least, and most likely an outright refusal.

He wasn’t expecting Hux to be wearing nothing but a black robe and gloves, feet bare, legs pulled up onto a red sofa that was the only piece of furniture in the large main area.

He was also wearing the hat.

“Fuck!” Kylo shouted as Hux jumped, his face frozen in rare astonishment, his datapad clattering to the floor. After a silent moment where Kylo could sense Hux’s fear in the Force, Hux registered who Kylo was and what he was doing in his quarters. His expression turned to a mix of smugness and annoyance as he bent to retrieve his datapad, and the fear vanished entirely. Smug bastard.

“Ren. I’ve been expecting you.”

“How?” Kylo stomped into the room. He was still dressed in the dust-streaked armor and helmet he wore for his current mission. He’d left his post for the night, realizing that if he skipped sleeping, the _Finalizer_ was close enough that he could spend 45 minutes onboard and be back in time for the next Trooper surge.

“You didn’t know I’d be here. I wasn’t even on the ship!”

“You have a fondness for invading my privacy and disrespecting my time. I knew you’d show up in my quarters sooner or later.”

“So do you sleep in the hat? Just in case?” Kylo blurted, realizing the mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. He shouldn't have brought up the hat. Hux would know. But he was just so _angry_. This should have worked.

Hux smirked. “I told you, it's a cap. And yes, I do sleep in it.”

“Why?”

Hux crossed his arms, his voice dropping to a mocking tone. “I keep hoping it will drive you away. It never does.”

“How did you know I hated it?”

“Because you only complained about it once. You are quite vocal about your likes and dislikes. I knew when you didn’t bring it up again that you truly disliked it.”

“I do.” Kylo stepped forward. “Fine. It drove me away. We can’t fuck anymore unless you take the hat off.”

Annoyance crossed Hux’s features. “Can you at least close the door to my quarters if you’re going to shout like that?”

Kylo flicked his hand impatiently, and the door made a feeble scraping noise as it closed behind him, clearly off its mechanical track. “Will you take the hat off now?

Hux unfolded his arms. His robe fell open, showing a pale sliver of chest. Kylo was still wearing his helmet, which would hide the fact he was staring. He’d never seen more than Hux’s bare arms. The fact he was sitting in front of Kylo in a robe was almost making his mouth fucking water. Hux had practically gift-wrapped himself. Had been sitting in here, waiting for Kylo for who knew how long. He wasn’t going to send Kylo away.

“No, I will not remove the cap," Hux insisted, like the contrary asshole he was. "If you can’t accept my terms, you can leave.”

Kylo stared at him, waiting for more. Waiting for Hux to take it back, to say something to stop Kylo from leaving. Hux stared back. Kylo turned, then paused again, waiting. He could feel that hat, like a third person in the room, like a pet that was watching Kylo misbehave. He put his hand on the door, flat, not on the panel, because that was probably broken and Hux would need to call a repair droid for that. He waited again for Hux to say something. Hux didn’t.

Kylo spun around. “Why can’t you just take it off?” he all but whined, grateful that the helmet vocoder hid the tone.

“The cap stays on.”

“Then when can we do something that I like?”

Hux got a strange look on his face. “You just broke into my quarters to demand I fuck you in my free time.”

“What, is it only for you if it’s on the clock?”

“You’re missing the point.”

“Are we finally getting to why you’re insisting on that stupid hat?”

“No. The point is that you need this.” Hux stepped forward, crossing the room and laying a palm against Kylo’s chest. “I do not. I am making allowances for your…” he looked Kylo up and down, “For your difficulties. You do not make it worth my while. But here we are. The one thing I ask from you is not privacy, or consideration, or even civil treatment. I’m going to wear this cap when I fuck you exactly like you need it. That is my only condition.”

Kylo’s jaw worked behind his helmet, and he bunched his fists at his sides. He hated that the mention of his difficulties not being worth Hux's time was verging on what constituted dirty talk between the two of them, and he was getting hard. The corner of Hux’s mouth twitched, because he knew that too, and it made Kylo angrier. 

Hux made it sound so _reasonable_ , too. Like he had every right to insist on that hat. Kylo knew perfectly well that this was just pettiness. Hux didn’t give a shit about that hat. Kylo was suddenly sick with jealousy, wishing he had a way to make Hux just as angry.

“Why?” he finally asked, wondering if Hux would admit to it.

Hux met his eye through the helmet’s visor. “Because I like it.”

“I don’t.”

Hux sighed, but responded by slipping his robe off his shoulders and letting it puddle in a silky black pile at his feet. Kylo stared. Kylo stared at his neatly trimmed ginger pubic hair, which he’d only glimpsed before, and the sparse hair on his thighs and legs. Kylo gaped at his slim waist, and at the large silver scar that carved from his belly to his ribcage. Kylo wanted to put his mouth on Hux’s tiny, pert nipples, bent forward to do so, then frowned, realizing both that he was too eager and that he was still wearing his helmet. 

He straightened, crossing his own arms. He looked Hux up and down, pretending like he had to think about it, and knowing that Hux would see straight through him. Hux’s comment about Kylo needing Hux had rankled, though it was something Hux said all the time while he fucked Kylo. It wasn’t true. Kylo could stop whenever he wanted.

Hux was standing in front of him, wearing nothing but the hat, a pair of black gloves, and a slow smirk that spread across his face. The hat almost made it not fucking worth it.

Almost.

* * *

The hat truly almost wasn’t worth it. Kylo grew even more obsessed with it, because everything would be perfect without it. He always corrected himself - _perfect_ was what he deserved, not what he needed. He was entitled to something nice, and Hux happened to give it to him. That was it. 

But sex with Hux was so good, and a needed distraction when he still couldn’t find the Resistance, or Luke Skywalker. He could have sex with Hux basically whenever he wanted now, even in Hux's bed. Kylo thought about it all the time. Pretty much every night, especially while he was away on missions. If he was on the _Finalizer_ , he could just go to Hux and have him fix the obsession, have him unknot the worries in his chest, have him give Kylo what he fantasized about. Most of Hux's dirty talk was about how Kylo needed him, how Hux wouldn't put up with bad behavior from anyone but Kylo. Kylo mostly just agreed, because while he was there, everything he worried about went away. All of it. His failed missions, how he still couldn’t stop himself from thinking about his family, whether joining the Knights of Ren and the First Order had been his decision or Snoke’s, the troubling way that he thought about Hux all the time now.

But every time he thought about having sex with Hux, and how they could do it naked in a bed now, he couldn’t not picture the hat, and that ruined almost everything. It made the one good thing in Kylo's life worse.

He’d tried ripping it off Hux’s head, but Hux stopped and tossed him out of his quarters every time he did. One time, he slammed it into the trash compactor on the way out, but Hux was wearing another one the next day. Angry, Kylo had broken into Hux’s quarters while Hux was scheduled at a meeting and thrown away all his hats. He had an astonishing number of them, presumably because he knew Kylo well enough to anticipate him. But even after he trashed them all, Hux was wearing another hat the next day. Where had it been? Kylo could sense a traitor from orbit, but Hux was apparently capable of hiding a dumb fucking hat from him in a single-occupancy modular dwelling space.

In a moment of desperation, Kylo used Force suggestion to make Hux think he hated the hats. For a whole blissful week, Hux didn’t wear one. Kylo insisted on sleeping over every time he saw Hux without. Hux hadn’t said anything about the decision, but had indulged with Kylo until they had both fallen asleep exhausted, then again in the mornings before he rose for his shift. In the mornings, Hux spoke less, and the sex tended to be slower and more indulgent. Hux didn’t wear the gloves. Kylo savored it, thought about it all day, then came back for more at night, bringing the dinner rations with him. They didn’t speak of it.

Kylo realized it didn't matter how much time they spent together, growing closer privately didn’t reflect their public or working life, which was a source of relief and pleasure. They still insulted each other plenty when they were forced to meet and make command decisions, and their casual conversations were still laced with performative loathing. Anger was still a reliable way to provoke Hux during sex, so Kylo very often picked a stupid fight with him prior to their first round. Kylo found himself enjoying the back-and-forth more and more. It amused him, and it seemed to amuse Hux, too. It was nice.

But after a week, Hux was wearing the hat again when Kylo returned to his quarters, looking smug about it. Kylo had never had anyone beat his Force suggestion before, so he tried three more times, with the same result each time. After a week, Hux always went back to wearing the hat, and it was a massive blow to Kylo’s confidence. It _should have worked_. Permanently. 

He stopped doing it, and stopped sleeping over. Instead, realizing that he was probably crossing another line, he spent days obsessively reviewing Hux’s daily routines on holocam security footage, pinpointing how Hux was beating the Force suggestion so thoroughly every time. Eventually, he realized that the First Order brainwashing bantha shit that all the officers did had some sort of uniform regulation refresher every week. Reminding Hux that the hat was part of the uniform, and that it existed, seemed to bring back the memory that Kylo hated it, and that he enjoyed being a little shit to Kylo. There wasn’t anything Kylo could do about that without causing permanent damage, and he reluctantly gave up, the idea of hurting Hux less appealing than it once would have been.

Once, while he was horny on a long-term mission and missing Hux’s bed, he broke his own casual comm rules asked Hux for nudes. Hux replied that he wasn’t aware Kylo had a comm anymore, and Kylo had thought that was all he was getting.

Later, he got a holo of Hux’s erect penis with a tiny First Order hat on the head, the felt sticky with precome. It had the stupid little wings and the brim that curved into the crown, the insignia and everything. Kylo was horrified, and was forced to imagine Hux doing crafts. But the sight of Hux’s erect cock was at least enough for an angry wank in the middle of nowhere, hat or no hat. Further insults and requests were ignored. Hux never told him where the replica hat had come from. Kylo had also confronted him about his pettiness, thinking that Hux would have to stop if Kylo could prove he was doing it. That hadn’t worked, either.

Once Starkiller was finished enough to move personnel to the surface, Kylo and Hux wasted no time making use of the command suite. Technically, the command suite was designated as Hux’s quarters, and Kylo was officially still quartered on the _Finalizer_. Realistically, the command suite belonged to both of them. Kylo stopped threatening not to sleep over if Hux wore the hat, it was too much work to go somewhere else. If Hux’s business took him elsewhere in the fleet, Kylo slept in the quarters alone, because it might as well be his bed, too.

Sleeping in Hux's bed regularly was another minor crisis that Kylo had to rationalize to himself, though. He decided that it didn’t matter, that sleeping with someone was _nice_ , it was relaxing and easy, and Kylo deserved it. All the things that Hux helped with, the bad things that went away when he made Hux laugh, all of that stayed with him when he slept with Hux through the morning. He was even in a good mood during the day too, if nothing fucked up happened. It was good, and Kylo refused to stop.

But he had to do it all with the hat, and the hat was an unwelcome third partner in their deal. Hux only took it off to shower, which Kylo took advantage of by showering with him as often as possible. Hux, still inherently a shithead, usually refused him. Sometimes, he didn’t.

The hat had to go. It was terrible, and Kylo had to stare at it all the time, ruining the nice things he’d earned for himself. But he’d run out of ideas to get rid of it, and his loathing for it built into something ugly. He hated that it sat between him and Hux.

The breaking point came when they were fucking in the quarters on Starkiller. Kylo was face-down on the bed, because even though he’d rather look at Hux and wrap his legs around Hux’s back and see the look on his face as he fucked Kylo, Hux’s quarters had an enormous viewport that looked out to the forests of Starkiller, currently in the middle of a blizzard. Kylo enjoyed everything about violent storms, and that was easier to look at than Hux’s hat.

So Kylo stared out into the raging whiteness while Hux pounded him senseless from behind. He was wearing one of his fancy robes, and Kylo felt the silky cloth brush against his calves. He focused on the storm, and the feel of Hux’s gloved fingers as he clenched them into Kylo’s hips as hard as he could. Kylo almost constantly had bruises in the shape of Hux’s fingers at his hip now, and the feeling of Hux marking him made heat uncoil in Kylo’s chest. Kylo had to clench his eyes shut to keep himself under control. Hux leaned forward, pressing his belly against Kylo’s back, murmuring low.

“Fucking slut. Can’t get enough of this. Of me. You think I’m not tired? I have no patience for you and your poor self-control. I indulge your filthy whims and your firm ass far too often.” Hux thrust a few more times, grunting quietly, then paused, trembling, clearly trying to hold himself back. In a different tone, more demanding and angry, he asked, “What have you done to me, you traitorous Republican filth?”

He sank his teeth hard into Kylo’s ear, then leaned back up and pulled out, spanking Kylo hard with a gloved hand. Kylo never contributed to these tirades during sex now. He could no longer tell if Hux was mocking Kylo or himself. Given that anger was still the thing that aroused Hux the most, Kylo suspected it was mostly self-mockery for Hux’s benefit. He buried his hot face in the cool sheets and moaned, and when Hux sank back and started fucking him again, he lifted his head and fixed his unfocused gaze on the blizzard, the awareness of it in the Force a pleasant background haze to the arousal that lay thick between them.

Hux had gotten so much better at every part of this, it was hard for Kylo to be away from him now. And anyway, it seemed like everything else Kylo did was a failure. The Resistance was still hiding from him and every single specialist Kylo used to locate them. Snoke was getting more pointed about how distracted Kylo had been lately, which Kylo denied. He needed his distractions. They were good. Hux was good.

Hux plowed into him again, fucking him harder than before, hard enough to make Kylo’s teeth crash together, catching his lower lip between them. Kylo laid a hot cheek against the sheets again, tasting blood and looking out into the storm. He let his thoughts drift, lost in the overwhelming sensation. They both knew how to make sex last now. Hux still rarely touched Kylo's cock, and Kylo had learned he lasted much longer and came harder without. Hux knew how he liked it, and would finger Kylo until he came if he finished first. It was exactly what Kylo needed, Hux taking care of him like that.

A gust of wind from the raging storm rattled the giant transparent panes hard enough to shake the room, and Kylo closed his eyes again.

“Ah, this is-” Hux muttered, then shouted, “Viewport! Full tint!”

Kylo frowned and opened his eyes as the floor to ceiling window darkened to black, obliterating the view of the near-whiteout blizzard and the wind stripping the branches from the trees nearby.

The light from outside had been too bright, so it took Kylo’s eyes a moment to acclimate to the darkness indoors. But when his vision finally adjusted, he found that instead of the view of an angry storm, all Kylo could see was the reflection of himself, bent over, ass-up on the black sheets of Hux’s massive bed. Hux was behind him, black robe open, pale chest exposed, gloved hands buried in Kylo’s side, hat perched jauntily on his head.

 _Distraction_ , the echo of Snoke’s voice growled in his head. It only happened if Kylo let himself think about what he let Hux do to him, or if he caught a glimpse of what he looked like in the mirror when they fucked in the shower. He loved it, he wasn’t ashamed of himself, and he’d quashed the part of him that doubted this long ago. But sometimes it came back, and it always sounded like Snoke. He blamed the fucking hat.

“Enough!” Kylo growled, sitting up and spinning to face Hux, furious. Hux looked confused for a moment - Kylo never did anything to interrupt - before Kylo pushed him down onto the bed, face-up, wrists pinned above his head.

“What-” Hux began, and Kylo tore his hat off, then clapped a hand over his mouth. Hux looked shocked, and was breathing hard through his nose.

“Stay there,” Kylo growled, pinning Hux’s hands with the Force, then positioning himself to ride Hux’s dick.

Hux moaned against his hand, clearly furious, but didn’t otherwise struggle. Kylo watched his face for refusal, for a head shake, but Hux only blinked at him. Hux always made it obvious when he wouldn’t tolerate something, and Kylo always stopped when Hux told him to. He lifted his hand briefly from Hux’s mouth, but Hux only bared his teeth in a snarl. Kylo covered his mouth again, then shifted and sank down on Hux’s dick, riding it until both of them finished. Being angry always did it for Hux, but as much as Kylo liked the position, he couldn't come from just this unless he touched himself, so he licked his palm and stroked his cock.

Once Hux came inside of him and Kylo jerked himself onto Hux’s chest, Kylo released his Force hold and rolled off, panting, vaguely annoyed that Hux had pushed him that far. He didn’t like to get angry during sex, but he fucking hated that hat and the way it ruined everything. He hated the image of Hux taking him from behind in the hat even more. It was burned into his memory, mocking him.

He was vaguely aware of Hux rolling to the side of the bed, then back. He blinked, and Hux was on top of him again, straddling his hips, a monomolecular blade at his throat. Kylo blinked at him, more curious than anything.

“What?”

Hux’s hair was loose and falling over his brow. He was even hotter than normal like this. Kylo tried to picture Hux taking him from behind with the knife at his throat, and closed his eyes, pleased with himself.

The blade jabbed him in the throat, the needle-prick of contact bringing him back from his fantasy.

“ _What_ ,” he asked again, more sharply.

“I have one condition for our arrangement.” 

“You could have stopped me,” Kylo replied, more annoyed than he should have been.

Hux exhaled sharply, his expression a careful neutral. He was angry, but not the kind of angry that led to sex. “Not that. The sex isn’t the issue. Is it really so hard for you to understand that I only ask for one thing?”

“The hat stays on? Give me a break, Hux.” They hadn’t actually spoken about this in a long time, because Kylo had mostly given up. Kylo considered throwing Hux off, but thought it might be past time to have this conversation, at least, if not any of the others that they’d been avoiding. 

“You’re only wearing it to make me angry.”

“Of course I am.”

It was finally out between them. Hux had never admitted it aloud before. Kylo swallowed, and said one of the other things that they avoided.

“Aren’t we past that?”

“No.”

This made Kylo angry, angrier than the confrontation and the threat of the monomolecular blade. He didn’t stop to examine his anger, bit back the _why not_ , the insistence that they were better than that now, no matter what Hux said. Kylo was. Kylo was-

“You can’t,” he spat out, pushing his thoughts down another path, “You can’t sit there and tell me that none of this is for you. That you don’t get anything else out of this.”

“Can’t I?”

This hurt too, more than Hux’s flat refusal that they were beyond their usual games, which was just the _truth_.

Luckily, instead of something messy, a better comeback spilled unbidden from Kylo’s lips. “Then I can fuck you next time?”

Hux narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Kylo smirked.

“Then you’re lying about not liking this.”

“I lie all the time. But I am very serious about the uniform cap. You will either respect my request, or you will not be welcome in my bed again.”

“Come _on_ ,” Kylo insisted, still tempted to throw Hux off. “You’d kick me out because I hate the hat? A hat you don’t even like? A hat you only wear to make me angry?”

“Yes.” Hux’s voice was flat. He was telling the truth.

Kylo rolled his eyes, then considered this more seriously. “You wouldn’t. You can’t give this up any more than I can.” He gestured between them. They both stared at each other, badly caught out.

Kylo coughed, the blade jabbing into his neck again, then continued. “Why the hat, Hux? Why not anything else? Why wouldn’t you just make me knock?”

Hux’s expression flashed with momentary anger. Kylo always suspected that Hux liked that he barged in and demanded to be fucked. Kylo still did that as often as he could, because it made Hux so angry. 

But Hux would never admit that out loud. Instead, he fucking defended the hat. “It’s part of the uniform. You will respect that, and also me.”

“The uniform?” Kylo considered this. Despite the fight and the silly threat to his life, he still wanted this to end with Hux falling asleep with him in the bed. He needed the sleep badly. More than that, he wanted a solution to this persistent, stupid problem. He wanted one thing to go right in his life.

“I’ll tell Snoke to take it out of the official uniform regulations.” He waved his hand. “Consider it done. It’s not official anymore. Happy?”

Hux flicked his hand, and the blade disappeared up the sleeve of his robe. He must have put on his wrist holster. “No. I don’t think you’d bother with the effort, or even have the authority to do that.”

Kylo hated it when Hux called his bluff. He was always so smug and confident. “Look, I know you like fucking me a lot more than you like uniform policy.” He pitched his voice lower, and raised his fingertips to Hux’s temple. “I can _feel_ it.”

Hux made a face, probably because he knew Kylo was lying. Threatening Hux with the Force never worked anymore.

“Besides,” Kylo continued, dropping his hand, “if you actually liked your uniform so much, you wouldn’t fuck me in it all the time. Isn’t that disrespectful?”

“I consider it more of an extracurricular. They are made to last.”

Kylo couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. He waited, but Hux didn’t elaborate.

“Look,” Kylo tried, one last time. “I can’t do it anymore. You can’t fuck me in that hat. I hate it. That’s my line.” He paused, staring at Hux’s face. Hux was silent, and Kylo didn’t want to continue, but he forced the next part out. “We can do something you like, if you take it off. Anything.”

Hux stared back, though his face took on a more considering look. He knew Hux might ask for a lot. Hux had asked him to kill his rivals before, in exchange for sexual favors. Kylo should maybe have thought harder about taking out those ex-Imperials, but it wasn't like he was friends with any of them.

This might be worse than that, though. There was no telling what Hux was capable of.

“No,” Hux said, after a moment. “I’m afraid if you can’t come to terms with the official First Order uniform, you’ll need to grow up.” He rolled off Kylo, waving his hand at the door as he crawled off the bed and walked into the ‘fresher. “See yourself out. And you are not welcome into my bed unless you accept that the cap is proper dress.”

“It’s not even really your bed!” Kylo shouted as he propped himself up on an elbow and stared after Hux as he closed the door to the ‘fresher. He looked back to the sheets bunched in his hands, and considered jacking off onto the pillow in revenge for the loss of the second round. Instead, he laid on his back, staring at the ceiling.

“Hux,” he muttered angrily. He knew Hux liked sex as much as he did. This wasn’t serious. They were just dealing with the hat. Hux would get over it. 

Maybe Kylo would get a comm message before he had to break back in here.

* * *

He didn’t get a message.

Hux was serious about the fucking hat. Kylo waited a whole week before going back to Hux’s quarters, but Hux dismissed him the same as last time, and in the same outfit - that black robe and his hat, though he wasn’t wearing gloves this time. That, more than anything, told Kylo he was serious.

When Kylo went on missions, Hux no longer replied to his comms, with sarcastic commentary or jokes or anything else. There was only silence between them. Hux didn’t even seem to miss him, when they had to see each other for command meetings and everything else. 

One night, instead of sleeping on the _Finalizer_ , Kylo entered their quarters and watched Hux sleep, wondering if he had wet dreams or woke up with an erection as often as Kylo. He just slept. Kylo had to go back to the _Finalizer_ to masturbate to that. Hux still slept with the fucking hat on, like he knew Kylo was capable of this kind of desperation, but it had at least rolled off in the night, so Kylo got to keep the image of Hux in the dark, mouth slightly open, hair dry and light and spread across his pillow. It was so different than what Kylo liked best about him. But it was still good. He could picture him pressed against Kylo’s back, an arm across his waist.

After three weeks, Kylo could no longer deny to himself how much he missed Hux. Kylo missed him so fucking much. He missed everything they did together.

Hux’s silence coincided with a miracle breakthrough in his efforts to track the Resistance, so at least he had work to distract him. Successful work. Things he could bring to both the Supreme Leader and Hux, and Hux would have to see him more, as a co-commander. But their conversation was terse and aggravated, and neither Hux nor Kylo responded how they usually did. Kylo could tell it wasn’t hot anymore, and Hux wasn’t into it, either. 

Maybe Hux missed him, too.

* * *

Then Starkiller happened, and they lost, and that was a whole thing. Hux saved him, risked his life to pull Kylo’s miserable corpse off the planet. He said it was an order, something the Supreme Leader told him to do, but he also stayed with Kylo while he was being treated for his injuries and gave his orders from Kylo's bedside in the aftermath. That was nice. He wasn’t wearing his hat, because maybe he lost it on the surface of the weapon when it imploded into a black hole. The thought of all those hats being lost in that explosion almost made the massive failure worth it.

Kylo saw a lot of Hux in medbay, though he was too badly injured to talk much at first. The one time he spoke, it was to ask Hux to suck his dick. Hux left in a huff, which Kylo thought was rude of him.

Otherwise, Hux was always on edge from dealing with everything going to shit. It seemed like Hux only came into his recovery quarters to complain, but Kylo missed him so much that he stayed silent and listened. Mostly. Hux was usually there when he woke up at night, working beside his bed. Kylo would blink at him, and Hux would adjust something on the feed Kylo was hooked to, and Kylo would fall asleep again. Kylo figured it was best not to ask about that, when Hux came back later in the day to rant.

About a week after the Starkiller implosion, Snoke summoned him, and was serious about it, so Kylo drug his broken body onto his TIE Silencer and went to Snoke's castle to see him. Kylo suspected he knew what was coming, and wasn’t disappointed - he was a failure, he’d been too distracted by the Light and by the things he wanted and didn’t need. Snoke told him all the things Kylo was tired of hearing.

Kylo was still wearing the bacta patches on his face, neck, and shoulder from the scavenger’s lightsaber strike. He'd lost his helmet at the same time as his father - Kylo had only had one of each - so the scar from his humiliating failure was plain for all to see. He felt the injury pull when he tried to bow his head to Snoke in contrition, and that was really too much.

He was suddenly angry, and the Dark flowed into him. Though his body was broken, he was still powerful in the Force, and with a flick of his wrist, Snoke was dead. It happened so suddenly, the impulse striking from nowhere, that Kylo could only stare slack-jawed at Snoke's body for several moments. It had been so simple, Kylo wondered why he'd tolerated the tedious xeno for so many years.

The implications of the action hit him immediately. He had the presence of mind to call a droid to confirm the death while the corpse was still cooling. It was able to officially register the event in the system. Since Kylo was Snoke's apprentice, and because he had died of natural causes (Kylo had luckily stopped all three of Snoke's hearts), Kylo inherited the leadership of the First Order rather than being executed as a traitor.

Kylo began scrolling through his comm for what he wanted even before the droids could haul the body from the room. His first act as Supreme Leader was to change the uniform regulations. No more fucking hats. At that moment, Kylo cared very little about the garbage that magically began showing up in his comm channels, or whatever else his new standing gave him the power to do. He confirmed the changes to uniform policy, then pulled them up again to ensure they’d cleared.

Once that was handled, he acknowledged the system nag that all members of the First Order be notified of the change in leadership. He changed his title from ‘Supreme Leader’ to ‘Emperor,’ because he’d always thought that was cooler, then sent the notification.

He immediately re-boarded his TIE and returned to the _Finalizer_. When he disembarked, Hux was waiting for him, a neutral expression on his face and the Stormtrooper honor guard accompanying him.

“Your Highness,” Hux murmured, bowing immediately. He did it without giving anything away. Kylo couldn't tell what Hux thought about his new title. He couldn't tell if Hux was jealous, or if Hux missed sleeping with him.

Kylo should have hated him. Hux had picked a stupid fucking hat over Kylo. 

But they’d always had their differences. That was the great thing about Hux. They’d both learned not to take it personally.

Hux was wearing the fucking hat, because of course he was. Kylo descended the ramp from his TIE, strode across the room, then snatched the hat off Hux's head, tossing it somewhere behind the line of posed Stormtroopers and officers. He hated when they did the welcome committee thing, it was stupid, but he was glad it gave Hux an excuse to meet him at the hangar. He waved everyone else away now, keeping a firm hand on Hux’s shoulder until they were alone.

Hux made a face, opened his mouth to speak, then wisely closed it again.

“I’m Emperor,” Kylo began smugly, nearly giddy with triumph. “And my first act was to change the uniform regs.”

Hux’s expression changed, pinching in distaste. “Are you joking?”

“You said you wore the hat because it was part of the uniform. You said I wouldn’t change it.” Kylo began to say Hux promised not to wear it if he did, but technically he hadn’t, and Hux wouldn’t budge if Kylo tried to put words in his mouth.

The familiar anger washed over Hux’s face, the good kind. “You deregulated them? Why wouldn’t you simply outlaw them?”

“Fuck!” Kylo shouted, turning back to his TIE, then to Hux. “I didn’t think of it. Do I have to? Will you seriously not fuck me, even after I made myself Emperor?”

“No.” Hux stepped forward, putting a hand on Kylo’s chest and pushing, that angry look on his face. Kylo got hard in his leggings, allowing Hux to push him back up the TIE ramp, then back into the cockpit. Hux followed him, standing in the cramped doorway and pointing to the floor under the control panel, in front of the pilot’s seat.

“On your fucking knees, you cocksucking degenerate jumped-up little _shit_ ,” Hux hissed between his teeth as Kylo dropped to his knees, his hands shaking too badly to take off his clothes. Hux stopped him.

“The robes stay on. Emperor Ren.”

Kylo closed his eyes. The new scar on his face pulled, just like it had hours before, when he killed Snoke. The wound in his side throbbed. His hands were in terrible shape, from where he’d all but torn apart the med suite on the _Finalizer_ after he'd failed in absolutely everything. He’d been burned, shot, stabbed, and nearly killed when Starkiller failed. He was not well.

None of that mattered.

* * *

Several months into Kylo’s reign as Emperor, everything was going great. He and Hux officially shared quarters, and all the things he’d worried about before were simply gone. He got to sleep with Hux every night, with Hux pressed against him, with Hux waking him up hard every morning. He was allowed to shower with Hux, and they ate breakfast together. 

After everything Kylo had been through, he was almost disappointed when he realized that most of what he wanted was so simple. But he didn’t have to deny himself anything anymore, and Hux seemed happy enough to go along with it all, too.

Hux, being Hux, convinced Kylo to make him heir to the First Order as his former co-commander. This did give him a reason to want Kylo dead, which opened up interesting and admittedly fun challenges for Kylo. After the second attempt on his life, Kylo made a rule that he got to fuck Hux every time one of his assassination attempts failed. Kylo changed the rule to ‘after any assassination attempt’ when Hux denied the third attempt was his. But there was really only one way the air supply in his pilot suit could be sabotaged by a narrow cut in the air hose, and they both knew it.

“Emperor Ren,” Hux drawled in one of their more official meetings, though it was only the two of them. Hux, now Grand Marshal, insisted on having an office for business, where Kylo wasn’t allowed to fuck him. “Morale is low among the members the First Order.”

“Morale,” Kylo repeated flatly, unimpressed. Where was this going? Hux loved his little barbs about Kylo’s leadership style. 

“They feel as if things are changing too fast. Perhaps bringing back something familiar might be enough of a concession.”

Kylo glanced around the sparse office. They were still on board the _Finalizer_ , which hadn’t changed at all since he’d become Supreme Leader. It was still his and Hux’s command, and the routines had stayed the same. He’d changed almost nothing about the way the First Order was run. He cared about very little of it, and left most of it to Hux.

Something wasn’t right.

“Can’t you just brainwash them into being happy again?” Kylo replied, holding Hux’s gaze.

Hux was silent for several seconds. He absolutely could do that, and Kylo knew whatever he was about to ask for was a load of shit. Hux looked away.

“Imperial Week has been requested. As an annual event.”

“Imperial Week,” Kylo murmured, not trusting this, but suddenly overwhelmed by memories of 'Imperial Week' in the New Republic. It was an annual holiday there, but one where they celebrated the death of the old Emperor. Whatever. So what? He’d moved someplace where they'd obliterated the New Republic and fucking loved celebrating the life of the old Emperor. In fact, they’d made him their new Emperor. Or rather, he’d made himself that. 

“What happens during Imperial Week?”

“We remember the successes of the former Empire,” Hux said, shrugging.

“And how do we remember?”

“Speeches. Switching the droids out for older models. Holos. That sort of thing.”

Kylo hesitated, looking for the catch. “Do I have to make the speeches?”

“One would suffice, I’m sure.”

“Do I have to use the accent when I do it?”

Hux glared. “No.”

“Fine. I can give a speech.” It would have to be a very short speech. He’d grown up hating the old Empire, and he didn’t really see any reason to change his mind, even as an Emperor himself now.

“I’ll write it for you.”

“Oh. You’ll write it for me.” There was the catch. Kylo sighed dramatically. “And you think me reciting a speech that you wrote will improve this so-called poor morale?”

“Among other things.”

Kylo stared at him. Hux stared back.

"I get to review the speech first. I'm not saying anything ridiculous."

Hux shrugged, unconcerned. "Of course."

There was something about this that wasn't right, but it sounded like an innocent enough request. Maybe Hux just had a Thing for Emperor Palpatine. Kylo wasn't one to judge.

“Fine.” As long as he only had to give a short speech that he could veto, what could Hux possibly do with that?

Hux smirked. "I believe this will be a very positive boost for morale. I will make it clear it has your seal of approval. All members of the Order will look forward to it."

Kylo thought that seemed like a lot, but whatever. He already knew that Hux was the king of the fanatics here.

* * *

“What in the Force-damned hells are you _wearing_?”

Hux had woken him up wearing an unfamiliar uniform - or, not unfamiliar, because Kylo knew fucking well that it was an Imperial uniform - green, with the ugly rank plaque and the mysterious flaunting of code cylinders on the chest. The pants were bigger and baggier, the color was uglier, and the belt was just _awful_.

And it had a fucking hat. At least it didn’t have the ear flaps that the former First Order cap did, but it had the ugly bill. And it was that puke green color, so it had that going for it.

“It’s the first day of Imperial Week, Emperor Ren,” Hux replied, with more cheer than usual.

Kylo sat up, wary. “What does that mean?”

“It means that we’re appreciating the old things today,” Hux answered, now downright happy. “And you promised to give a speech.”

Kylo now vaguely remembered agreeing to this. He would rather Hux stabbed him in the stomach. At least he’d be allowed to finally fuck him after he healed. “Wait. You wrote me a speech? Do I have to give it next to you while you’re dressed like that, or something?”

“No,” Hux replied, and there was no mistaking the eagerness on his face.

Kylo was _so fucked_.

Hux bent over, and picked up something from the floor. It was a second uniform, on a hangar. Complete with hat.

“You have to do it dressed appropriately.” 

**Author's Note:**

> The voyeurism I tagged for is the worst of the boundary crossing that happens - at several points, Kylo watches video footage of Hux to see if he's wearing a hat, and once, Kylo enters their (formerly shared) quarters to watch Hux sleep. I tried to make it humorous, but that's not going to be for everyone.
> 
> Hux insists that he wears the hat as a boundary, to prove that Kylo respects him. He's being petty, but does refuse Kylo when Kylo sets an ultimatum. Again the story is fairly humorous, and Hux agrees not to wear the hat when it's not a rule anymore, but Kylo does remove Hux's hat and try to get rid of it several times, which may be a boundary issue for some.
> 
> There's a scene where Kylo removes that hat during sex (crossing said boundary) and continues. He gives Hux an opportunity to stop him, and accepts Hux's silence as consent. Hux is consenting to the sex, but it prompts another conversation about the "hat as boundary" that causes a semi-breakup, with a monomolecular blade used as a threat. Kylo isn't threatened, and in the context of the fic, the semi-breakup isn't serious at all.
> 
> There's also some rough sex, but the worst of it is when Kylo mentions Hux fucking him without any prep (other than lube for Hux). Kylo likes it.
> 
> There's a throwaway joke involving non-consensual mind manipulation, where Kylo uses a Force suggestion to make Hux think he hates the hat. It gets undone pretty quick, with Hux none the wiser, and I didn't think it was an involved enough plot point to tag specifically.


End file.
